Just Another Day in Sunnydale
by Monet
Summary: Just two Slayers out doing their job - for one Little Sis....


TITLE: Just Another Day in Sunnydale  
AUTHOR: Monet and Bookman  
TIME: Early third season - but with Dawn in the picture  
RATING: PG  
DISCLAIMER: We own NOTHING except the baddies ;) Joss and his genius own these wonderful characters!  
AUTHORS' NOTES: Bookman and I like to write, what can we say? And we figured, we'd put our love of writing into a joint fic. This is our first, but it shall not be our last!  
  
  
As far as vampires went, this particular gang wasn't the smartest. Attacking two teenage girls who just happened to be taking a late night stroll through one of Sunnydale's cemeteries?   
  
On the other hand, they were just big enough to provide some exercise.  
  
Faith grinned cheerfully as her sparring partner, a huge brute of a vampire wearing a UC Sunnydale jacket that had seen better days, charged her.  
  
"Big and clumsy," she said as she ducked down and used his momentum to flip him onto his back, "just the way I like it!" She laughed and pounded a stake into the undead linebacker's heart. As he dusted, she winked, then turned around to see how Buffy was doing.  
  
Buffy backhanded her assailant, sending him to the ground. She patted her jacket, glancing around as the vampire was struggling to get his bearings together.  
  
"Where's my stake?" she asked. "Shoot, I think I dropped it somewhere!" Just her luck - somewhere in the melee, her trusty weapon fell.   
  
"C'mon, B, hurry up and stake him already. We're gonna be late." Faith complained as she watched Buffy kick the vampire around. All week, they'd been telling her how kick-ass Dingoes Ate My Baby was and now they were gonna miss the show. Not like there was anything else fun to do in Sunnydale. Maybe it was time for a trip to Vegas - now that was a fun place to hang...  
  
"I'm hurrying!" Buffy looked over at her sister Slayer.   
  
"Well, hurry faster," Faith muttered with a grin.   
  
"You didn't happen to accidentally get my -" But she was rammed in the back from the vampire. This was good: looking like an amateur next to Faith.  
  
She fell forward with an "oomph!" With a roll of her eyes, she let the vampire flip her onto her back then she punched him viciously into his nose, sending him off of her. "Give me your stake!"  
  
"Shit!" Faith had been about to tackle the vampire on her own. Instead, she tossed her stake to Buffy.   
  
Buffy caught it in mid-air just as the vamp recovered and lunged at her. With the point directed upwards, the vampire caused his own death as  
he landed right on the tip.  
  
The ashes fell all around her, and Buffy waved her hand over her face as she got to a sitting position. "Bleck." She stood up. "We should start bringing one of those hand vacuums with us. Not good for the outfits; hard to wash out."  
  
"Yeah, I hear ya," Faith said as she brushed dust and wet leaves off her jeans. "Well, I'm down for some serious dancing now," she told Buffy, a wicked grin on her face. "So... any of these band guys cute or what?" Faith asked as they  
headed out of the graveyard.  
  
Walking beside the brunette, Buffy handed Faith back her stake. "Thanks for the spare. I don't know where mine went. And about the band guys, they're  
band guys. If you go for those type of guys, then, yeah, they're all cute. Except for Oz, they barely share one braincell."   
  
But she grinned, playfully. "But maybe you like that in a guy."  
  
"B, brains is the last thing I look for in a guy," Faith said with a laugh.   
  
"Why am I not surprised?" Buffy said with her own laugh. Faith was definitely someone Buffy had to get used to - wild, uninhibited, a hell of a fighter... the blond Slayer felt a little jealous of what Faith could do and WOULD do.  
  
Within 15 minutes, the two Slayers waltzed into the Bronze, the music already thumping in their chests. The young bodies of teens danced all over the floor.   
  
Buffy spotted her two best friends off to the side. "There's Willow and Xander." She grabbed Faith's wrist and led her toward them. "Hey, guys."  
  
"Right..." Faith forced a smile onto her face. She still didn't know what to make of Xander and Willow. They were nice and all, but so - so Middle Class America. So was Buffy, but at least she knew how to have some fun, on top of the Slayer  
gig. "Hey," she said as Buffy pulled her up to their table.  
  
"Buff," Xander said, looking up at her. "And Faith. What's the what, guys?"  
  
"Usual. Vamps zero, Slayers..." Faith frowned as she grabbed a chair and sat down. "How many of those losers were there, anyway?" she asked Buffy, then shrugged. "Kicked some ass."  
  
"That about sums it up just fine," Buffy said, sitting in her chair.  
  
Faith looked over at the empty stage. "Did we miss the gig?" she asked with a frown. That was basically the only reason she'd let Buffy drag her into this.  
  
"No, they're gonna be on in a few minutes," Willow replied, a happy smile on her face. "They're gonna do a whole five songs!"  
  
"Yeah, you're just in time," Xander said, looking at Faith appreciatively. My, did she know how to dress. Leather. Leather was ALWAYS good.  
  
"Um, Xander?" Cordelia said, cutting into his thoughts as she sat down in the empty seat next to him. "I so think your tongue's hanging out."  
  
"Huh?" he said, snapping out of it. He shook his head and looked around the table.  
  
Willow rolled her eyes, but was distracted by noise on the stage.  
  
Buffy tried to hold in a laugh right as the Dingoes took the stage.   
  
Faith smiled at Xander. He WAS cute... But so were a lot of the guys in the Bronze tonight. She almost gave him a wink, then turned towards the stage.  
  
Xander snapped to full attention, giving his girlfriend a hug. "My Cordy always loves me, no matter what my tongue is doing." He grinned then paused. "Uh... okay... boy, was that the most inappropriate thing to say - EVER."  
  
"Gotta agree with you on that," Buffy remarked.  
  
Faith just grinned. Maybe Xander had a bit of a wild side to him after all. Not that she'd try anything. Cordelia would probably tear her eyes out with those nails of  
hers. Then she settled back as the band began to play their first song.  
  
When the set was over, Faith had to admit Oz and his pals weren't bad. Not exactly her style, but not too bad either. A couple of their songs had even been pretty cool.  
  
But that didn't mean she was gonna stick around too long afterwards. Willow and Oz, and Xander and Cordelia, had their own deals anyway.  
  
Willow beamed when the set was done. She grinned widely when Oz came to their table. "You were great!" she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.  
  
Oz gave a small nod to everyone. "Well, it did sound like we knew more than two chords, so it went well."  
  
"Well, now that it's over," Cordelia began, slipping off her seat. "Xander and I are going to be gone."  
  
"We are?" Xander asked, being tugged away.  
  
Cordelia nodded. "We are. Bye."  
  
Xander barely had time to wave. "Uh, I guess it's the bye thing for me, too." Then they were gone.  
  
"Well, I think I need to get back to the homestead," Buffy announced, checking her watch. "Mom said she might go help set up in the gallery for late night shift for some new thingy tomorrow. Gotta watch Dawn."  
  
"Oh, okay," Willow said, not too broken up about being left alone with Oz. "Tomorrow?"  
  
Buffy nodded then looked at Faith. "How about you?"  
  
Faith took a look around, didn't spot any guys especially worth fooling with, and shrugged. "I could tag along. Be a bad influence on Dawn," she said with a quick grin, then hopped up. "It's on the way, anyway."  
  
Which was true enough, but she wasn't about to admit, not even to herself, that she kinda liked Mrs. Summers and Dawn. They always had free food over there was as far as she'd go.  
  
But when they got there, Faith forgot all about mooching some food from the Summers' fridge. The front door was ajar, and she knew all the Summers girls knew better than that. Without a word, Faith pulled out a stake and followed a stone-faced Buffy into the house.  
  
"Man, B, Dawnie sure knows how to throw a party..." Faith said, peering around over Buffy's shoulder.  
  
Buffy gave Faith a look. "So, who taught her how to throw?" she asked. "The World Wrestling Federation?"'  
  
Faith shrugged. "She's a teenager. All part of growing up, ya know?" But this wasn't really party damage, it was battle damage, and they both knew it. On the plus side, no dead Dawn, not even any blood...  
  
"I don't think smashing mom's furniture is part of growing up," Buffy replied, glancing around the place, a dread feeling in her. "Of course, unless you were ME."  
  
"Yeah, well..." Faith took a good look around and spotted something lying half-hidden under the broken coffee table.   
  
Buffy frowned, taking one glance around the house. Where was her mother? But Faith's voice cut into her thoughts.  
  
"Hey, check it out. Someone left a note..." Faith snatched the white envelope up and tore it open, then frowned as she read the note inside. "Shit."   
  
"What is it?" Buffy asked, going over to her. She didn't like the sound of her voice.  
  
"Some rejects got Dawn," Faith said as she handed the note over to Buffy.   
  
Buffy took the note and looked it over, her face growing dim. How dare anyone even think about touching her sister.  
  
"You ever run into this 'Stent' guy? Cuz I know I never tangled with anybody with a name that stupid."  
  
"No," Buffy answered. "But he's gonna want to wish it stayed that way." She looked over at the stairs.  
  
Faith took one last look around, then started towards the door. "Let's go. Time to kick some ass. Guy was nice enough to leave his address and everything."  
  
"Wait right there," Buffy told Faith. Then she hurried up the stairs. She saw that not one of the rooms were touched - except the door to her mother's room was closed.  
  
"Okay..." Faith glanced up the stairs for a second, then shrugged and went back to poking around. 'Stent', whoever he was, had done a number on the family room.   
  
Not like they can't afford new furniture, Faith thought, then shrugged again and plopped down on the couch.  
  
Buffy tried the knob but found it locked. She knocked. "Mom?" Leaning in, her ear to the door, she heard some scuffling inside. With a flex of her wrist, the knob broke in her hand and she went in, finding her mom tied up in the corner, gagged.  
  
"Mom!" Buffy cried, running up to her. She quickly untied her mom, giving her a once over and realizing she wasn't hurt. Except for the knob on her head.   
  
"Oh, honey," Joyce Summers cried. "They took Dawnie. I couldn't stop them."  
  
"It's okay, Mom. Stay here. Lock the doors. Faith and I are going to get her back."  
  
With that, she ran down the stairs and headed straight for the door. "Let's go," she stated.  
  
"Lead the way," Faith said, jumping up and following Buffy back outside. She had no idea where they were going. Still hadn't gotten the lay of the land, even though Sunnydale wasn't that big. "We gonna stop by the library and get some serious hardware?"  
  
Recalling the address, Buffy knew the school was on the way. She just hoped Giles wasn't there... which was HIGHLY unlikely.  
  
And she was right.   
  
"Buffy?" Giles said, coming out from his office when they arrived. "What's the matter? I thought you'd be home in bed?" He looked at Faith. "Has there been trouble?"  
  
"Big time." Faith quickly filled in Giles on the situation. "You got any idea who this Stent reject might be?"  
  
Giles frowned for a moment, then shook his head. "The name does sound vaguely familiar, but..." He turned to Buffy. "You know it's almost certainly a trap," he told the blonde Slayer even as she grabbed weapons out of the locker.  
  
Buffy put a battle ax in her Slayer bag. "And that means anything to me because....?" She continued to look at the various weapons, not even throwing Giles a glance.  
  
Giles blinked, running his fingers through his hair. "Uh, well, I'm just wondering about your safety is all."  
  
"Giles, when Dawn's concerned, it's THEIR safety they should be worried about." She looked over at Faith, wondering if she wanted a pick at weapons.  
  
"B's right. These mutants fucked with the wrong kid," Faith said. She pointed at one of the crossbows in the back of the closet. "Can I take that out for a spin?"  
  
Giles turned around to see where Faith was pointing. "Absolutely - "  
  
"Wicked!" Faith snatched it up and expertly loaded a bolt. "Relax, Giles, I'm five by five with these things..." She removed the bolt, then slung it over her shoulder and  
grabbed a nasty long dagger. "I'm all set to shishkabob these guys, B. You good to go?" Faith asked. But one look at Buffy and she had the answer.  
  
Whoever this Stent was, his days - fuck that, his minutes - were numbered.  
  
Buffy had the bag slung over her shoulder as she led the way towards the door. She paused and glanced back at her Watcher. "Giles, check to see if 'Stent' does  
come up on any of your demony books."  
  
Giles sighed, knowing he could do nothing to stop them. "And if I do?"  
  
"We'll be at the warehouses near the docks," she stated. "I'll check back, if we don't kill the demon first. If we can't, we need to know how."  
  
"Right, then," the Englishman answered with a nod. "Please be careful, you two."   
  
"Always are," Faith replied, then kicked the door open and stomped out, ready to kick some ass.  
  
*******  
  
The two Slayers arrived at the warehouse lane half an hour later. The quarter moon shone in the night sky, giving them little light. Which was good for them.  
  
Luckily, they both had awesome night vision.  
  
It came with the Slayer gig.  
  
Buffy reached into her bag as they crept close to one of the warehouse's walls and pulled out the battle ax. She gripped it tightly in her right hand, trying to listen in for any activity, demon or otherwise.  
  
That's when she heard voices a little around the corner. Buffy could only guess that they were coming from in between the warehouses.  
  
"Get ready," Buffy whispered, setting her bag down. No use in hindering her, especially not knowing how many of them there were.  
  
"Right." Faith slid the crossbow off her shoulder and quietly loaded it. She could feel her heart start to beat double-time. Any second now, a demon was gonna  
get the shaft, she thought with a grin.  
  
Then frowned and hastily hid the crossbow behind her back as a half-dozen teenagers came around the corner.  
  
Dammit. Faith glanced at Buffy. No point in suggesting they were a little bit too pumped-up here.  
  
Buffy swung her ax around behind her, a little embarrassed she hadn't picked up on who they were exactly - which was NON-DEMON.   
  
One of them looked up at the two Slayers, a grin on his face. "Hey, sweetheart," he said, nudging one of his other buddies to look at their find.  
  
That other buddy was counting up a brick load of cash. "Wow, look fellas. A coupla desserts to go with the deal we just made."  
  
Buffy glanced over at Faith, not scared one bit - just impatient, and SO not having time for this. She looked back at them, her face expressing exasperation. "Sorry, guys, this dessert line is closed. In fact, it was never open. And didn't anyone ever tell you to say 'no' to drugs? Which does include dealing them, too."  
  
The lead guy wasn't liking her attitude. "Hey, saying 'yes' will get you and your friend a good night on the town with us. Bet you won't be saying 'no' to any of us soon, babe."  
  
Faith rolled her eyes. Why were men such idiots? She was ready to kick the dealer down the block when it occurred to her that these morons might be able to help  
out. She smiled and stepped up, shrugging her shoulders so that her jacket opened up a little.  
  
"Oh, I like the sound of that," she purred, moving closer until she was practically on top of the guy. "Don't mind my friend. She's just a little shy until you get to know her," Faith added in a whisper.   
  
"Uh-huh..."  
  
Buffy watched Faith and couldn't help but roll her eyes. She kept the ax behind her, other hand on hip, and stood there impatiently as Faith did her job.  
  
"You look like you know your way around," Faith continued, resting one hand on the drug dealer's shirt. "Is this your corner?"  
  
"Yup. Used to belong to the Snakes, but we let loose a few caps and they went runnin'."  
  
Faith managed not to roll her eyes again, but just barely. Wannabes. Cute. "So maybe you know a few places we could go..."  
  
"Oh, hell yeah." The dealer grinned and pushed himself up against Faith. "Lots of places."  
  
~Wow, it's working,~ Buffy thought when she realized where Faith was really going with this.  
  
"Like that there?" Faith asked, turning and pointing(and subtly pulling away from the dealer).  
  
He turned and looked to see where she was pointing, then shook his head. "No way. They got a security guard there."  
  
Wuss. Faith pointed at another one of the warehouses. "How 'bout that one?" she asked. "Cuz I'm really in the mood now..."  
  
The dealer somehow cringed and smiled at the same time. "That one? Nobody ever goes there, babe."  
  
The blond Slayer's eyes shifted over towards the warehouse the dealer indicated.  
  
Faith pouted. "Why not?"  
  
"Cuz."  
  
"Cuz?"  
  
"Cuz that's where the mutants hang out," the dealer reluctantly confided.   
  
"Mutants, huh?" Faith smiled. "I think that's all we needed to know, right B?"  
  
Buffy glanced back over at Faith with her own victorious grin. "Yeah. It's about it."   
  
"Thanks for the tip, big guy," Faith said, shooting him a wink and drawing her crossbow in the same breath. "And if you fuckers even think of starting something, I'll shoot this right into that little thing between your legs, got it?"  
  
"Yeah... it's cool, lady, just chill." He put his hands up and backed away, his buddies eyeing the crossbow with fear in their eyes.   
  
"Just walk," Faith snapped. Wisely enough, the group took her advice and hurried off in the other direction.  
  
Without another second, the group turned and ran away.  
  
"Not so subtle in the end, were you?" Buffy asked, with a quirk of her brow.  
  
"Subtle's just another word for 'waste of time'... And that was fun. C'mon. Let's try the back door," Faith suggested once the pack of teenagers had vanished down the block.  
  
Buffy followed Faith around the corner of the target warehouse towards a door. She reached out and grabbed the knob trying to turn it.  
  
Naturally, it was locked.   
  
But that didn't help much against Slayer-strength. Faith covered Buffy while she snapped the lock open, then followed the blonde Slayer inside, both of them as quiet as a mouse.  
  
Of course, they didn't get ten yards before the overhead lights snapped on.  
  
"Well, finally..."  
  
"Shit," Faith muttered. A huge, blue-skinned demon - Stent, presumably - was standing at the other end of the warehouse. A few more like him, and all armed with nasty spears, were lurking in the shadows. And off in the corner, tied to a chair...  
  
"Hey, Dawn," Faith said, trying to give the terrified kid an encouraging smile. Then she aimed the crossbow at Stent, but held back to see how Buffy wanted to play it out.  
  
Dawn struggled a little where she sat, but her tear-streaked face showed a sign of hope as she saw the two Slayers.  
  
It took Buffy a moment longer to take everything in. But just as Faith had noticed the small figure tied and gagged in the chair, so did the blonde Slayer. She looked up at the blue demon, barely controlled fury seething from her for thinking this demon and his cronies had to TOUCH Dawn.  
  
The ax was still held tightly in her grip as she glared at him. "LET. HER. GO."  
  
Stent laughed. "R-i-i-ight, Slayer. RIGHT. That'll do it." He leaned on the nearest pole with a cockiness that rivaled Faith's.   
  
"Great. Stupid and snarky." Faith tightened her finger on the trigger. "Can I shoot him, B?"  
  
"Boys..."  
  
Suddenly, at the word, four of the cronies emerged from their shadows and ran at the two Slayers.  
  
Barely looking and with one arm, Buffy backhanded her ax, burying it into one of the two right in the chest Then, jerking it out, she swung it at the other one coming from the other side. The blade sliced right through his neck, decapitating him. She barely flinched or moved.  
  
The other two swept towards Faith. She managed to shoot one in the head with the crossbow, then tossed it at the other one, slowing him down long enough for her to jump aside and draw her dagger. He snarled, she smiled and turned on her heel, neatly slicing his throat.  
  
"I said, let her go," Buffy intoned just as the last demon fell to the ground.  
  
Stent looked at them, an unreadable statement on his face. He was leaning forward, hands resting on a sword he'd drawn at some point in the brief fight. "Well. Not bad. Not very strong on finesse, but then again you are Slayers..."  
  
"You figure that out all by yourself or what?" Faith asked as she looked around in case there were more of the demon goons hiding around the edges of the room.  
  
Ignoring Faith, Stent focused on Buffy. "I'll make it simple for you bipedal swine. You fight me - both of you - and whoever survives gets her," he said, pointing his sword in Dawn's direction.  
  
Buffy tensed as the point of the blade went towards Dawn. She could see Dawn draw back into the chair at the movement, eyes wide in fear.  
  
"That's it?" Faith blurted out. "All this just to get your ass kicked by us?"  
  
Stent smiled cheerfully. "Not likely. I've killed dozens of Slayers. Never two at once, though... it should be interesting."  
  
"Right. I get it. You're a fucking psycho."  
  
"Maybe. But if you don't fight me, the... girl... dies. Screaming." Stent smiled again and rested the tip of the sword on Dawn's shoulder. "Well?"  
  
When the blade touched Dawn's shoulder and the youngest Summers shut her eyes with a shake, Buffy lost it. And as an answer to his challenge, she ran at him with ax raised. Not usually the one to instigate a fight, no one ever threatened her sister like that.  
  
Stent responded faster than Buffy ever thought any demon could. The head of the ax came at him with a power and fury that would've lobbed off three demon's heads at once, yet he raised his sword and blocked it easily.  
  
But Buffy thought quickly and used her left fist to aim at his face even as their weapons touched. He managed to duck then lash out his leg, sweeping her off her feet.  
  
Buffy landed hard on the ground - hard.  
  
"Nice try, Slayer," he said. "Maybe next time, you'll learn never to interfere with my workings."  
  
Faith smiled as she came up behind the blue-skinned demon. All talk... She stabbed the dagger at his back, but somehow Stent moved out of the way, faster than Faith's eyes could even follow.  
  
"And maybe next time, you won't try something so predictable," Stent said, smirking at Faith. He raised his sword in an en garde salute.   
  
"Maybe." Faith shrugged and threw the dagger at Stent's head.   
  
Stent snapped it out of the air with his free hand, too quickly for either of them to see. All they knew was that the dagger wasn't going towards its destination any longer.  
  
"Or maybe there's a reason why killing two Slayers at once is a thing of impossibility, moron," Buffy intoned, already on her feet and snatching the sword out of his hand.  
  
Stent turned toward the blonde, surprised that she was successful in taking it away. But his statement quickly faltered when the tip of the sword sliced through his leather coat and straight into his two beating hearts in his chest.   
  
Buffy drove it all the way through to the hilt, the blade protruding out of his back, inches from Faith's face.  
  
Stent looked at her, his eyes wide. "You'll.. not ...see the.. las -"  
  
"Save it for the movies," Buffy intoned, then spun around and kicked him squarely in the jaw, knocking him over. He died before he even hit the ground.  
  
"He wasn't so tough," Faith said after a few seconds.  
  
The blond only took a moment to revel in victory before moving towards her sister in the chair. She quickly untied her and pulled the gag off of her.  
  
Dawn let out a breath and hugged Buffy furiously. "Buffy, you came..." she said, on the verge of tears. "I didn't think..."  
  
"Shhh," Buffy soothed, stroking the back of Dawn's long, brown hair. "It's okay, Dawnie. We handled it. You're safe now."  
  
"Yeah, five by five all around," Faith said. "We better get outta here in case this spaz has any more goons hanging around. I'm tired of these losers."  
  
Buffy nodded. "Yeah. We should go."  
  
**********  
  
At the Sunnydale High School library, Giles flipped over to the next page of the sixth text he had poured over within the past few hours. The name Stent jumped out at him.  
  
"Ah," he said to himself, tracing the old text with his finger. He read on, then knitted his brows together in concern. Stent wasn't so much a name as it was the name of the DEMON.  
  
The demon of many faces. Of many bodies.  
  
It was a demon of possession.  
  
"Oh, dear..."  
  
*********  
  
Dawn got up off the chair and looked around as Buffy held her hand. "Wow, you guys really made a mess. Who-Who was he anyway?" She pointed toward the blue demon.  
  
"Who cares? Just another dead loser," Faith replied. "Thought he could mess with a Slayer's sister and get away with it..."  
  
"He kept telling me that you ruined his.. his workings or something?"  
  
Buffy shrugged. "It doesn't matter. His workings aren't quite working now." She gave Faith a grateful grin. She didn't notice Dawn bending over to get something as they passed Stent's body.  
  
"Just one thing, Buffy," Dawn said. When Buffy looked at her, Dawn whipped out the dagger of Faith's that had fallen out of Stent's hand and plunged it right into Buffy's shoulder. "Never underestimate who your enemy is."  
  
"Dawn, what the - " Faith abruptly shut up as she figured it out. She kicked 'Dawn' in the gut, driving her away from Buffy. "Neat trick you got there."  
  
With slight shock, Buffy stared at the dagger protruding from her shoulder. It was painful as hell, but it luckily missed any major arteries. Dawn had done it...but what...?  
  
Then she saw Faith kick her sister and Buffy was caught by surprise. "Faith!" She grabbed the hilt of the dagger and pulled it out of herself, holding in a cry of pain. She let it clatter to the floor as she gritted her teeth.  
  
Dawn smiled cheerfully, exactly like Stent had before. "If you Slayers would talk less, you might last a little longer..." She slammed the palm of her hand into Faith's face. "Then again, maybe not," she added as the brunette Slayer went staggering back.   
  
"Dawn, stop this!" Dawn was fighting Faith... Buffy began to realize that Dawn must be under the control of the demon. The bastard.   
  
Still smiling, Dawn turned to Buffy and hit her bleeding shoulder. "Did you really think that you two could beat me?"  
  
"Augh!" Buffy hissed, staggering back from utter pain. "Let her GO!" she managed to demand through the pain.  
  
"I've been killing your kind for hundreds of years." She laughed, then kicked Buffy right between the eyes. "It's not so hard."  
  
The blond Slayer stumbled back and fell onto her backside, landing on her back. Her hand gripped the wounded shoulder, willing her healing powers to start doing its job now.  
  
Dawn needed help more than ever.  
  
While Dawn wailed on Buffy, Faith tried to think of away to take her down without hurting her. You couldn't beat a demon out of someone - at least, Faith didn't think you could - and she didn't want to maim Dawn in any case.  
  
First things first, though. Taking advantage of Dawn's attention being focused on Buffy, Faith tackled the younger girl and managed to knock her to the ground.  
She winced a little when Dawn's head smacked against the concrete floor, then winced a lot when Dawn's fist smacked into her gut with the force of a hammer.  
  
Faith still held on, pinning Dawn to the ground. Luckily, the demon didn't seem to have carried any of its strength over into the younger girl. "Buffy, you there? I could use a freaking hand here!" she called out, not daring to turn away and invite Dawn to pull another trick.  
  
Buffy gritted her teeth and sat up, seeing Faith pinning her sister down.   
  
"You can't kill me!" Dawn said. "You'd have to kill this body..." She struggled underneath the powerful grip of the dark-haired Slayer.  
  
"We're not doing that," Buffy intoned, going over to them. "Giles. He'll-he'll know what to do." She looked around, trying to find a phone of some kind.  
  
A rickety desk sat in the corner, papers still scattered all over it. Buffy saw the phone at one end. "Faith, hold her. Try not to hurt her, please." Then she sprang off and dialed the library's number.  
  
"Trying!" Faith muttered as she struggled to pin Dawn's arms behind her back.  
  
Giles picked up. "Buffy?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me! It's Dawn..."  
  
"Has something happened? I have new information on that demon, Stent. It's not the name of him, per se -"  
  
"Yeah, he/it possesses people, right?"  
  
"Yes. And demons."  
  
"He's got Dawn! You need to do one of those spelling outtie things on her."  
  
"Oh, dear. Alright, I may have something. Can you bring her here?"  
  
Buffy looked back over at Faith and Dawn. "I don't know. I'm afraid if we take her, she might run off or something. And who knows what he wants to do with  
her."  
  
He paused. "Right, then. I shall be right there."   
  
After giving him, exact directions, Buffy returned to them. "Giles will know what to do." She looked at her sister, worriedly. "Dawnie? Are you there at all?"  
  
"Piss off, Slayer. There's nothing your Watcher or anyone can do." A manic laugh left Dawn's throat. "I could make you kill me." She stared right up at Faith.  
"Or... I could just kill you."  
  
"Bring it on," Faith shot back. "You're oh for two so far, moron."  
  
Suddenly, Dawn's face softened and she blinked. "Wh-what happened?" she asked, her voice scared. "Faith? What's going on?"  
  
Then from behind, Buffy grabbed Faith's hair and jerked her off of Dawn. "Yeah, Slayer, what's going on?" The manic grin that had been on Dawn's lips was now on Buffy's.  
  
"Shit!" Faith stared at Buffy for a second, then threw a wild punch. With her other hand, she tossed Dawn back. "Run, kiddo!" she yelled while punching Buffy again. Just gotta hold her off until Jeeves shows up...  
  
Dawn stumbled back when Faith shoved her back. "Faith!" Dawn cried in shock when Faith hit Buffy. Why was she hurting her sister like that?  
  
Easier said than done, Faith realized when Buffy kicked her in the face. Tough enough fighting a Slayer all on her own, but one possessed by a demon was ultraviolence in the flesh.  
  
"B-Buffy?" the youngest Summers mumbled. She watched wide-eyed as Buffy and Faith squared off in a fight. Something was wrong with Buffy... Deciding to get help somehow, Dawn got to her feet and scrambled out the door.  
  
Faith heard a door slam shut and hoped that Dawn had the sense to run away instead of do something stupid like jump into the middle of it.  
  
"All right... you want to fight a Slayer? You got it. No more crap," Faith said, throwing out the lame lines to keep Buffy-Stent's attention away from the door and away from Dawn. "Come on. I'm gettin' bored here."  
  
Judging by the look on Buffy's face, it was working.  
  
Stent in Buffy's body was getting even more annoyed. What better way to kill a Slayer than through another Slayer? If a Slayer was the one that fought against demons and vampires alike, then the Slayer was one of the most powerful weapons of demonic war.  
  
This would definitely be fun.  
  
Faith braced herself and -   
  
Buffy hit her. Hard. Faith felt something snap and then the room spun around as she went tumbling backwards.  
  
Buffy stalked forward and grabbed the other Slayer by the throat, hefting her up onto her feet until she was face to face with Faith.  
  
"Hey..."  
  
Buffy replied by pounding Faith's forehead with her left fist, then elaborated by pounding her with her right fist.  
  
"Not so strong now, are you?" Buffy asked, a demented grin plastered onto her face.  
  
"Tough enough..."  
  
Buffy leaned in close. "Oh, yeah?"  
  
"Yeah." Faith smiled.  
  
"We'll see - "  
  
"Yes, we shall," a voice spoke from behind Buffy. Even as she started to turn, Giles placed both hands atop her head and uttered a quick phrase in what sounded like Latin to Faith.  
  
"No," Stent said quietly at first, realizing who was behind him and caught him unawares.  
  
Giles quickly read the page of the book, Dawn waiting in the doorway and watching with anticipation and anxiety. The Watcher increased the stress on the last few words of the spell before Stent could take a moment to recover.  
  
Buffy let out a long moan and a cloud of energy drifted out of her mouth, eyes and nose... then she slumped down.  
  
"Good timing, Giles," Faith gasped out as she eased Buffy to the ground. "Thanks."  
  
Giles let out a breath of relief. "Yes, I do have impeccable timing," he said, closing the book and taking out a handkerchief with a wipe of his brow. He looked at Buffy as she slumped to the ground.  
  
"And so modest, too," Faith added with a grin.  
  
Dawn came running in and knelt down beside her sister. "Is she gonna be okay?" she asked the Watcher.  
  
"Yes. The demon, fortunately, wasn't as attached to Buffy's soul as I feared. It probably took a lot out of her, however."  
  
But soon after he said that, Buffy stirred and her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Wow, what happened?" she murmured.  
  
"Long story - wait, no. The demon moved in, nearly kicked my ass, Giles saved the day. The end."  
  
Buffy still wasn't fully there. "Oh. That's nice. Where's Dawn?"  
  
"I'm here," the youngest sister said with a smile.   
  
"Oh...good," Buffy replied before fainting again.  
  
"We'll need to bring her back home," Giles said. "She just needs rest is all. She should be better in the morning."  
  
"Good to hear," Faith said as she rubbed the giant bruise forming on her forehead. Getting hit by a Slayer wasn't much fun. Not that anybody really noticed.  
  
She shrugged the thought away and pulled Buffy up.  
  
"I hope your car's right outside, cuz this is gonna look kinda weird," Faith told Giles as they carried Buffy towards the door.   
  
"Yes, of course." Giles led the two Slayers to his car and opened the passenger side, pushing the seat back to allow Faith to put the unconscious Buffy into the back. "Dawn, stay back there with your sister."   
  
Dawn nodded and joined Buffy in the back, cradling her head as she settled back. "Um, those guys aren't going to come back for me, are they?"  
  
While Faith got settled in the passenger side, Giles quickly started the car. "No. That last spell sent this Stent demon away from our world. He shan't be causing any more trouble." He adjusted his glasses. "Of course, now I know why he has claimed to have killed many Slayers. He's taken possession of many demons and the like that claimed they've killed Slayers. Quite a fascinating read, actually."   
  
"Fascinating?" Faith repeated with a smirk.  
  
He looked over at Faith's expression. "Uh, o-of course probably nothing we should discuss about at the moment."   
  
Shifting the car into drive, Giles looked over. "Are we ready then?"   
  
"More than." Faith turned on the radio and cranked the volume up, smiling when Giles winced. "Relax, G, the day is saved. The end, ya know?" she stated with a laugh.  
  
The End  
------- 


End file.
